Measurements

Say’s Phoebes are pale brownish gray above with a cinnamon belly, a blackish tail, and a gray breast. Male and female are similar. The immature is similar to the adult, but browner and may have a buffy wingbar.

Like other phoebes, the Say’s Phoebe often wags or pumps its tail when perched, although not as frequently as Eastern and Black phoebes. When foraging, Say’s often perch around eye level on exposed twigs, jumping up to snatch a flying insect and returning to the same or a nearby perch.

Say’s Phoebes live in open country, sagebrush, badlands, dry barren foothills, canyons, and borders of deserts; they avoid forests. They often gravitate to buildings and aren’t closely tied to watercourses like other phoebes.